Chinese Dragons
BY ANDREW UEN Introduction Chinese Dragons are known throughout the entire world, not just China. Chinese Dragons are reptiles and have long serpent-like bodies with four legs. They have no wings so they use their magical power to enable them to fly. Even though Chinese Dragons are reptiles, they are a mix of other animals. But they are well-known to have the head of a horse and the tail of a serpent. Sometimes they may have antlers from an antelope or even talons from an eagle. Chinese Dragons are said to have exactly 117 scales covering their long, slender body. They also control the four elements, water, earth, air and fire. Chinese Dragons are symbols of power, strength and good luck. Because the Chinese Dragon has such a good symbolic value, it was decided that it become the symbol for the great Emperor of China. The Chinese Dragon is also a very sacred animal as it is the 5th Chinese creature in the Chinese Zodiac. The Chinese Zodiac is how the Chinese us ed to record the years for twelve years. After these twelve years were over, it would then repeat and repeat. Also, if you were born on for example the Chinese Dragon's years, then you were expected to have certain qualities. Some of these qualities of the Chinese Dragon are passionate, decisive, intolerant, brash, noble, proud and strong. 'The Dragon King' There are four Dragon Kings in Chinese Mythology and they rule the four seas of China. These four Dragon Kings can shape shift at will, including into humans but their true form is a dragon. They are told to live in crystal palaces, guarded by shrimp soilders and crab generals. The Dragon King also commands an army of marine creatures. The Dragon Kings also fashioned the Monkey King his Wishing Staff, an invincible, 8 tonne weapon to shrink or grow at the owner's will. 'Bashe' ' ' The Bashe is known as an enormous snake that was so big it could eat elephants. It is similar in a way to the dragon as they are both enormous lizards. It was supposedly green, black or yellow. It is mentioned in two classic Chinese texts named Chuci ''and ''Shanhaijing. ''After this snake had eaten an elephant, it disgorges the bones after around 3 years. If you boil these bones and have the soup, it will ensure you never have heart diesease or get tummy aches ever again. Dilong Dilong is one of the -long dragons such as Shenlong or Yinglong. Dilong is the earth dragon as in Chinese, '''di' ''means earth, soil, land or ground. Dilong is the heavenly earth dragon of China. It is usually known to be paired with Tianlong as Tianlong controls the heavens whilst Dilong controls the earth below. Jiaolong Jiaolong is a water dragon. It can change into different forms and is known to be seen as a man and sometimes a fish. Some people called it '''a snake with four legs'. According to Chinese Mythology, when there are over 3600 fish in one pond, Jiaolong will come and give them the magical power dragons have to fly away. An efficient way to get food would be to place a fish net. The male also has horns whilst the females do not. Shenlong Shenlong is the spiritual dragon that controls the wind and rain in Chinese Mythology. They were blue and were hard to spot as they floated in the sky. Shenlong would bring rain and bad weather if anyone offended him. Shenlong was also used in Dragon Ball Z. Back to the Main Page: http://mythicalbeasts6j.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page